'Problem' Christchurch bar shut down

CLOSING TIME: Richey Bar, a nightclub and karaoke bar on Riccarton Rd, has been ordered to close by the New Zealand Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

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A Christchurch bar will be shut down after a young woman who smuggled in a bottle of tequila became so intoxicated she vomited in front of a police officer.

Richey Bar, a nightclub and karaoke bar on Riccarton Rd, has been ordered to close by the New Zealand Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

Judge John Hole ordered the bar to shut at midnight on August 30, allowing time for owner Yang Zhang to work through the closure with his employees.

In a written decision released earlier this month, Hole described the bar as ''one of Christchurch's significant problem premises''.

Police had called for the bar to lose its liquor licence due to multiple cases of intoxication on the premises, including an incident where a young woman had smuggled a bottle of tequila into the bar.

The woman became so intoxicated she vomited in front of the bar's duty manager and a police officer.

Owners and tenants of neighbouring businesses also complained about the amount of vandalism, rubbish and vomit which needed to be cleaned up most mornings after the premises had been open. They noted the problems disappeared while the bar was closed for renovations in March.

Zhang said he cleaned up the car park when the bar closed each day, but neighbouring businesses said his efforts were inadequate.

A Christchurch District Licensing inspector also raised issues about food, training and security staff failing to display their Certificates of Approval on several occasions.

She told the authority that if the licensee could not get the small things right then it was unlikely to get the big things right.

Judge Hole said Zhang had little or no experience of the licensed industry and had demonstrated his deficiencies by overruling his general manager to allow intoxicated people into the premises.